Door opening and closing device



May 18, 1943 G. M'ADLAND DOOR OPENING A ND CLOSING DEVICE Filed April 18, 1940 w dw ww WJ me M Ma 4? 5 m q Patented May 18, 1943 DOOR OPENING AND CLOSING DEVICE Gabriel Madland, Chicago, 111., assignor to The Youngstown Steel Door Company, Cleveland, Ohio, at corporation-of Ohio Application April-13, 1940, Serial No. 330,349

(01. ass-44) 6 Claims.

This invention relates to door opening and closing devices and is directed moreparticularly to devices of the character indicated for sliding doors.

It is an object of this invention to provide a door opening and closing device embodying a lever capable of exerting force for imparting opening movement to the door and a force 'of' greater magnitude for imparting closing movement to the door. V

A further object is to provide an opening .and closing device embodying a lever of a length not greater than that of the levers of opening and closing devices. of the same type but which shall be capable of exerting a door opening force of the'same magnitude as the former levers and a door closing force of greater magnitude.

A further object is to provide a door opening and closing device embodying a lever having means coopera-ble with an abutment for initiat ing door opening movement and other means cooperating with an arm for securing doorgcljosing movement.

A further object is to provide a door opening and closing device comprising a lever and a cooperating closing arm wherein the lever has. a portion lying behind and in overlapping relationship with said arm to prevent disengagement of said lever from said arm.

A further object is to provide a 'dooropening Further objects of the invention will become clear as the description thereof proceeds.

In the drawing forming part of this specification:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a portion of the main and auxiliary doors of a double door construction for railway house cars to which the invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 2.-2 of Fig. '1. V

Fig. 3 is a detail showing the lever in br ken lines after partial closing of the door and in full lines in position to complete door closing movement.

The opening and closing device of the instant invention embodies an abutment member sea cured as by means of rivets H to the auxiliary a car where a single door is used. The device of the invention includes a closing arm l3 which is preferably pivotally Supported upon the abutment member l0. Clockwise movement of the closing arm is limited by a shoulder l4 formed on the abutment member. Counterclockwise movement of the closing arm is limited by the flange l5 upon which the shoulder I4 is provided.

The closing arm [3 is provided with a plurality of hooks l6 and I! connected by a curved portion l8.

The main door IQ of the double door construction has secured thereto as by means ,of rivets 20 a lever fulcrum 2|. The fulcrum ca'rriesa hollow boss 22 upon which the operating lever 23 is swingab'ly supported. Thelever is fastened in position upon the boss by means of, a rivet 24 or the like. e

The operating lever is so designedthat increased leverage for moving the door to closed position is secured without increasin the length of the lever. To this end, the portion 25 of the lever above the boss 22 is provided witha cam surface 25' for imparting opening movementto the door and a member 26 projecting laterally from said portion for securing closing movement of the door. The upper portion 25 of the lever including the cam surface 25' is the same as the upper portion of levers of opening and. closing devices of the same type "so as to be capable of exerting the same door opening force. However, the closing member 26 lies between the boss 22 and the cam surface 25 so that the leverage arm of the closing member 26 is less =thantheleverage arm of the 'end of portion 25 which is remote from the boss 22 and whichin previous devices of the same type was employed in cooperation with a closing arm to force the door closed. The

portion 25 is so arranged relative to the closing.

arm that it is disposed behind the latter and in overlapping relationship therewith. The closing member 26 of the lever lies below the closing arm so that the toe thereof can engage the hooks l6 and I! in order to close the door. The relationship between the portion 25 and the arm I3 is important since it prevents disengagement of the closing member 26 from the hooks "It and 1-1. The operation of the device is as *follows: Assuming the doors to be in the closed position illustrated in the drawing and it is desired to impart opening movement to the .main door 19, the lever is swung counterclockwise, whereupon the .cam surface 25' of the lever engages the abutment member H] and an opening force is applied to the door through the lever support.

After initial opening movement is thus obtained the door may be elevated upon its rollers by means of the lift mechanism illustrated and readily moved to its full open position.

In the closing movement of the door it is again elevated upon its rollers and moved thereon until the door reaches a point adjacent to its fully closed position. The opening and closing device illustrated is designed to effect the closing movement of the door when it is open as much as 4 inches.

Assuming the door has been brought closed to this point, the lever is swung counterclockwise so as to engage the toe of the closing member 26 with the outer hook I6 of the closing arm. Clockwise movement of the lever will then force the door closed approximately one-half of this distance, the hook I6 serving as the fulcrum during this movement of the door. At this point the door is not yet fully closed, whereupon the operating lever is again swung counterclockwise. During this movement of .the lever the toe of member 26 will move along the curved portion I8 of the closing arm thereby raising the arm so as to automatically engage with the inner hook l1. Clockwise movement of the operating lever at this time will cause the door to move to its full closed position, the inner hook I! servingas the fulcrum during this movement. In the closed position of the door the portion 25 of the lever lies behind the closing arm so as to avoid disengagement between the member 26 of the lever and the inner hook I? of the closing arm. When the door is closed it is locked by meansof the locking device illustrated and indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral Z'i.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that without increasing the overall length of the lever a greater force effective to close the door is secured. As illustrated, the lever arm of the member 26'of the lever is one-half of the lever arm of the end of the portion 25 which represents the door closing lever arm of the prior opening and closing devices. Consequently in closing the door only one-half the force heretofore required is now necessary, or, in other Words, a door of twice the weight can now be closed without an increase in the force required. At the same time, leverage of the prior opening and closing devices for opening the door is maintained.

It will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications in the details of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. It is intended, therefore, that all such modifications and changes he comprehended within this invention, which is to be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A door opening and closing device comprising an abutment, a pivoted lever having means engageable with said abutment for securing door opening movement and a pivoted arm having a plurality of hooks, said lever having a second means extending a shorter distance from the lever pivot than said first means engageable with the outer of said hooks of said pivoted arm for securing partial door closing movement, said lever being swingable to disengage said second means from said outer hook and automatically engage said means with the inner of said hooks of said pivoted arm for completing door closing movement, said first means lying behind and in overlapping relationship with said arm.

2. A door opening and closing device for slidably supported car doors comprising an abutment, a lever pivoted intermediate its-ends, a portion of said lever on one side of the lever pivot being formed with a cam surface engageable with said abutment to effect door opening movement, and a pivoted catch arm, said portion of said lever having a closing member projecting laterally therefrom between said cam surface and the lever pivot, said member being engageable with said arm to close said door, the distance from the lever pivot to the point of engagement between said member and said arm being less than the distance from the lever pivot to said cam surface.

3. A door opening and closing device for slidably supported car doors comprising an abutment, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends, a portion of said lever on one side of the lever pivot being formed with a cam surface engageable with said abutment to eifect door opening movement, and a pivoted catch arm, said portion of said lever having a closing member projecting laterally therefrom between said cam surface and the lever pivot, said member being engageable with said arm to close said door, the leverage arm of said member being substantially constant and less than the leverage arm of said cam surface. i

4. A door opening and closing device for slidably supported car doors comprising an abutment, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends, a portion of said lever on one side of the lever pivot being formed with a cam surface engage able with said abutment to effect door opening movement, and a pivoted catch arm, said portion of said lever having a closing member projecting laterally therefrom between said cam surface and the lever pivot, said closing member embodying a toe, said toe of said member continuously engaging said arm to move said door to closed position.

5. A door opening and closing device for slidably supported car doors comprising an abutment, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends, a portion of said lever on one side of the lever pivot being formed with a cam surface engageable with said abutment to effect door opening movement, and a pivoted catch arm, said portion of said lever having a closing member projecting laterally therefrom between said cam surface and the lever pivot, said member being engageable with said arm to close said door, the distance from the lever pivot to the point of engagement between said member and said arm being less than the distance from the lever pivot to said cam surface, the part of said portion of said lever extending beyond said closing member lying behind said arm when said member and said arm are engaged.

6. A door opening and closing device comprising an abutment, a pivoted lever having means engageable with said abutment for securing door opening movement and a pivoted arm having a plurality of hooks, said lever having a second means extending a shorter distance from the lever pivot than said first means engageable with the outer of said hooks of said pivoted arm for securing partial door closing movement, said lever being swingable to disengage said second means from said outer hook and automatically engage said means with the inner of said hooks of said pivoted arm for completing door closing movement.

GABRIEL MADLAND. 

